Washington, July 25 (IANS) Two bipartisan US senators have introduced legislation to create the first federal definition of transnational repression, increase criminal penalties for offenders and centralise federal oversight of related investigations, saying foreign governments are increasingly targeting dissidents, activists and journalists on American soil.
The Stop Transnational Repression Act, introduced by Democratic Senator Adam Schiff of California and Republican Senator John Curtis of Utah, would establish new legal tools to prosecute acts of transnational repression and strengthen the federal government’s response to threats carried out by foreign governments or their proxies against individuals living in the United States.
The bill’s introduction comes after a series of high-profile cases involving alleged attempts by foreign governments to intimidate, surveil or attack critics abroad. Among the cases cited by the senators is an alleged assassination plot against a Sikh activist and US citizen in New York that the FBI disrupted last year. According to public court documents, the intended target had allegedly been identified by an Indian government employee.
The senators also pointed to China’s recently enacted Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion law, which they said could provide a legal basis for targeting individuals beyond China’s borders, and to alleged Iranian efforts through proxies to kidnap or kill US-based journalists critical of Tehran.
“With transnational repression on the rise, it is critical that we take strong action to investigate and prosecute bad actors who would intimidate and attack dissidents and critics on US soil.
This is a bipartisan effort to counter a national threat that reports show is only expanding in scope, with new and brazen efforts by countries like China and India trying to expand its intimidation of those not in lock step with the regime. In order to safeguard fundamental rights and freedoms for everyone on US soil, we need the clarity and the teeth that this bill provides, and I hope my colleagues will act quickly to pass our legislation,” Schiff said.
Curtis said no foreign government should be permitted to threaten people living in the United States.
“No foreign government should be able to threaten or silence people on American soil. Whether it’s the Chinese Communist Party, the Iranian regime, or any other authoritarian government, transnational repression is an attack on both our sovereignty and our freedoms. This bipartisan bill gives law enforcement stronger tools to hold perpetrators accountable and makes clear that the United States will not tolerate these abuses,” he said.
Under the legislation, a person convicted of a federal offence involving transnational repression could face a sentencing enhancement of up to 10 years in prison and an additional fine of up to $100,000. The proposal would also, for the first time, codify a federal criminal definition of transnational repression.
The measure would centralise oversight of prosecutions within the Justice Department’s National Security Division and oversight of criminal investigations within the FBI. It would also require annual reports and briefings to Congress on incidents of transnational repression, direct federal agencies to review existing authorities available to respond to such cases, and develop a whole-of-government strategy to address the use of artificial intelligence in facilitating transnational repression.
The bill defines transnational repression as activities carried out by a foreign government, or its agents or proxies, that extend beyond internationally recognised borders to harass, threaten, coerce, retaliate against, physically harm, kidnap or kill individuals in the United States or US persons. It also covers efforts to prevent people from exercising rights protected under the US Constitution, including freedom of speech.
Transnational repression has become an increasing focus of US lawmakers and law enforcement agencies in recent years as federal authorities have pursued cases involving alleged plots by foreign governments to target dissidents, journalists and activists living in the United States.
–IANS
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